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Pray for little Adam, the 8 week old kitten who was burned

Last week, I linked up to a story about an 8-week old kitten named Adam, who was burned for “laughs” by two teenaged girls back in June. To recap:

COTATI, Calif. — A 3-month-old kitten is on the mend after being set on fire, allegedly by two teenage girls last month.

The male shorthaired kitten, named Adam, received second- and third-degree burns over 75 percent of its body and was being treated at the Animal Hospital of Cotati, located in Northern California’s Sonoma County, officials said.

Two girls have been charged with cruelty to animals in connection with the case. They were arrested last Friday, accused of pouring flammable liquid on the cat, only 8 weeks old at the time, and setting it on fire. The girls are being held in Sonoma County’s Juvenile Hall. The maximum penalty carried by the charges against them is three years of confinement.

The kitten has undergone two surgeries and had its tail and the tips of its ears amputated. Tina Wright, the lead nurse at the animal hospital, said Adam was scheduled for another surgery on Tuesday and would likely have three more in addition to that. The operations are essentially skin grafts, she said, and would be performed pro bono by Lisa Alexander, a board-certified surgeon.

As you can see, Adam has a long road to recovery, with tomorrow being another skin graft surgery. According to this article:

The procedure, an attempt to cover portions of his back where burned and dead skin has been removed, is the most involved to date.

He is going to need a lot of good thoughts and prayers – not just for tomorrow’s surgery, but for those that are to follow, assuming he survives. Please make sure to keep him in your thoughts and prayers that he makes it through ok, and perhaps can make it to a point where he can be adopted by a loving family.

To stay updated, keep checking back at the Forgotten Felines of Sonoma County website, where they have photos, a FAQ, and Adam’s story posted. You can help fund Adam’s expensive medical care, and that of other kitties and cats here. Or contact your local Humane Society to find out how you can help abused and/or abandoned animals in your area.

Stay strong, Adam!

And speaking of abused animals, you’ve probably already heard the story of Atlanta QB Michael Vick and the allegations about his involvement in dogfighting, but in case you haven’t, here are some details:

Losers allegedly didn’t fare too well with Michael Vick. His pit bulls were often summarily executed after losing fights, according to a federal indictment that portrays a disturbing picture of animal cruelty.

In April, just before authorities raided his property in rural Virginia, the Falcons’ star quarterback was there “rolling” some of his pit bulls — that is, putting them through test fights to see if they were “game,” federal authorities said.

Eight of the animals didn’t make the cut, and were executed by Vick and two co-defendants by “hanging, drowning and slamming at least one dog’s body to the ground,” authorities allege.

A federal grand jury Tuesday indicted Vick and three others, accusing him of taking part in a well-established dogfighting operation.

The indictment lists numerous dog fights conducted by Vick and his associates going under the name “Bad Newz Kennels” since 2002. Often those dogs lost and met terrible fates.

In March 2003, Vick and others sponsored a 35-pound female pit bull in a fight that had a $26,000 purse. After the fight, Purnell Peace, one of the others indicted, consulted with Vick about the losing dog and Peace then “executed the losing dog by wetting the dog down with water and electrocuting the animal,” the indictment states.

Later that night, a 47-pound pit bull sponsored by Vick lost to another dog. Vick went out to a vehicle and retrieved a book bag with $23,000 in cash to pay off losses from the two matches.

[…]

The indictment states that Vick, two of his co-defendants and two others continued this year the operation at Vick’s property. Authorities searching the property found a “rape stand,” a device used to hold an aggressive female dog for breeding, a “break stick” used to pry open fighting dogs’ mouth and a treadmill to condition dogs.

Also that month, another female pit bull sponsored by Vick lost in a match that had a $6,000 purse, the indictment alleges. The dog was shot to death.

I really can’t put into words the level of disgust I feel for people who do despicable things this. I swear, sometimes it’s animals that are more humane than humans. I think of the trust I see in the eyes of my cat, the trust I’ve seen in the eyes of my sisters’ dogs, and it makes me nauseous to think of that trust being abused by disturbing individuals who obviously have some serious psychological issues.

Vick is proving to be the ultimate representative of The Madden Curse. In case you haven’t heard of The Madden Curse, the year after a player is featured on the cover of Madden Football they tend to have a poor season. Vick was on the cover of the 2004 edition and in 2005 he got hurt and played in five games. Now there’s a solid chance he’ll never play in the NFL again.